STAR WARS: REBELS -- The Beacon
by Tharpdevenport
Summary: What's more deadly and cunning than an Inquisitor?
1. Chapter 1

"You see what I did there?" Kanan says from the small hanger bay he and Ezra use for training. He deactivates his lightsaber; so does Ezra.

Ezra replies, "Yeah, a lot of fast and fancy moves."

"And I got you."

"What's new?" Ezra says with sarcasm.

"I was young and inexperienced in technique and offense as well, but I learned."

"You're moving too fast!"

"In real life, Ezra, you can't ask your opponent to please slow down. Watch again," he aims his lightsaber up and activates it. Ezra looks at Kanan as the beam of the lightsaber shoots upward.

Kanan circles Ezra; he raises his hand up to his chin, holding his lightsaber horizontally across the arm, protecting in. He quickly pivots the elbow, flicks his wrist and spins the saber upward and toward Ezra. Ezra deflects. Kanan twists his wrist left just as fast and quickly slashes across Ezra's chest. Ezra jumps back just in time and slams his lightsaber onto Kanan's, forcing it downward.

Kanan uses Ezra's beam to circle his beam on the pivot point. He let's go and grabs Ezra's arm and grasps his lightsaber with the other hand, slamming it down less than an inch from Ezra's right shoulder.

"You're moving too fast. How do I defend against that?" Ezra deactivates his lightsaber.

Kanan says, walking with Ezra up the ladder, "No, I'm not. The problem isn't my speed, it's your focus. You keep watching my blade when you should be watching my hand. Grips tighten and loosen, fingers move to reposition, the wrist twists and pivots. All these tell you what your opponent might do with his lightsaber. The movement of the blade can be deceptive."

"But how else will I get to scowl at him menacingly?" Ezra jokes.

"Don't scowl; scowling is a sign of an amateur and your opponent will change tactics accordingly."

They pass by Zeb's quarters.

"You little buggers! _Get off my head!_ " Zeb can be heard yelling.

Ezra speaks, "I don't know what it is about his head they're so taken by, but I'm glad it's him and not me."

The door whisks open to Zeb's quarters and he lumbers out as half a dozen tiny feathered bird-like creatures buzz around his head like humming birds.

"They don't leave me alone!" says Zeb, trailing Ezra and Kanan.

Kanan comments, "It's your fault for leaving the bay door open last mission. You can 't rely on Chopper to always get it."

"Isn't there something we can do about them?" Zeb asks, swatting at the birds.

"Maybe if you tried bathing…" Ezra suggests.

"I'm not in the mood, Jedi wannabe."

They enter the Bridge compartment.

"Hera, any luck?" Kanan asks.

"Negative. Had to cross Fennerton off the list – it's under Empire control now."

"We got to get more food supplies and trade off these cooking oil drums. I don't care if it's three days worth of food – take it if you can find it; every little bit counts."

"Why don't we just recycle the oil? They do it all the time in cargo ships," Ezra suggests.

Kanan responds, "It takes more energy to recycle it than get a new supply, plus we can trade with it. But it had to be soon."

"Why?" asks Ezra.

"The extra weight burns more fuel when we're in a planetary atmosphere. It may not be much, but you run as often as we do, it adds up."

"Hold on, I'm picking up a distress beacon," says Hera, punching some buttons.

"Where?" asks Kanan.

"A quarter of a parsec off course. Navigational records don't indicate it's charted. Wait – this spectral pattern looks familiar."

Kanan leans in for a look, "It is. That's a Jedi distress beacon pattern."

"I thought all the Jedi were dead after the Clone Wars, save a few stragglers," says Zeb.

"They are," Kanan replies.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go get him!" Ezra says excitedly.

"Not so fast. Considering our frequent encounters with Inquisitors, I wouldn't put it above them to lay in a trap like this," says Kanan.

"Yeah, but what if it isn't? If that were you or I on that planet, we'd be hoping our call would be answered."

"Hera, you take the ship and go on ahead. Ezra and I will take the skiff to investigate. If it in Inquisitors, we have to minimalize the loses to the Rebel fleet."

Hera turns her head to face his, "You speak as if you're an expendable part of this crew."

Kanan puts his right hand on her left shoulder, "It's us they seek. You can handle the Empire alone, but not them."

"Hey, not that I'm all soft and mushy – 'cause I'm not – if you change your mind, I'll gladly be expendable with you," Zeb offers.

"Maybe next time," Kana replies and he then presses down a button, "Sabine, Hera's patching in coordinates to the skiff. Cut those adjustments short and put her back together. Ezra and I have business to attend to."

"Here – why don't you take these little buggers with you for good luck?" Zeb offers the birds flying around his head.

Ezra taunts Zeb, "And deprive them of your head? I wouldn't think of it."

"We'll meet back at these coordinates in two days," Kanan says to Hera.

.

The skiff separates from the ship, veers off at an angle and them the engines flare up brightly and the ship vanishes into the blackness of space.

.

After a somewhat short passage of time, the skiff drops out of hyperspace; the streaking stars shorten to dots and a planet pops up in front of them.

"He's here? It looks like a dust bowl," says Ezra.

"Scan it, I'll keep circling the planet."

"Got it – the tracking beacon is originating from over there," Ezra points at the panel screen.

"I'm taking her down," Kanan says as he veers into the dusty clouds of air; they scatter and swirl when the ship breaks in.

"I'm detecting a small patch of forest a few hundred yards from the beacon," Ezra says.

"I'm setting us down betwixt the two. He'll likely have gone to the forest for make shelter."

.

The back gate to the skiff opens and Kanan and Ezra depart, looking about.

"Where's the light coming from? I thought it would be blocked out more," Ezra comments, looking at the sky.

"The particles in the air are being illuminated by the nearby star. The sand is probably casting light back up. The beacon is there – just over that small sand dune," Kanan starts toward it.

Ezra catches up, "Are you sure this air is okay to breath?"

"The parts per million is tolerable. I wouldn't want to breath it for a prolonged period."

"It's a little cool out here," says Ezra.

Kanan stops and turns to look at Ezra, "Are you going to whine the whole time?"

Ezra stops as Kanan continues on ahead, "Only as much as absolutely necessary," he replies with sarcasm.

Kanan stops, "The scanner says we're nearly atop it."

"No problem, we'll dig for it," Ezra whips out his lightsaber and activates it. He gets on his knees and swipes at the sand back and forth.

"Ezra."

"I got it."

"No."

"Then hop in," Ezra continues swishing side-to-side.

"Stop."

"What?" Ezra deactivates his lightsaber.

"You're heating up the sand and crystallizing it – you're creating a glass barrier. Lightsabers aren't the answer to all life's problems; sometimes you just got to get dirty," Kanan bends down.

"I hate digging," Ezra moans.

"Pretend it's whining. Ready? One… two… _three!_ "

And in unison they both pick up an unwieldy slab of black glass and toss it aside. They both swish sand side-to-side for a minute until Ezra stops.

"I see some kind of symbol."

Kanan resituates himself to get a look, "That's a Jedi insignia," he stands up and backs off.

Ezra sees him do so and follows his lead, moving to Kanan's side, "Lift it? I think the largest thing I've ever lifted was Zeb.

"When I was your age I was lifting large boulders. I'll help you," he closes his eyes and puts a hand out, aimed at the uncovered piece.

Ezra quickly joins in and the sand vibrates and starts spilling down forming slopes as a vessel emerges. The sand rains down off the small craft and pours out holes and gears.

Ezra opens his eyes to look, "Whoa!"

Ezra loses concentration, suddenly dumping the full load unexpectedly on Kanan, who struggles and drops the ship.

" _Warn me next time!_ " Kanan shouts.

"What is it? It looks like a fighter of some sort."

Kanan frowns and breaths in and out deeply, "That's a Eta-2 interceptor, Actis-class – a common ship used by the Jedi during the Clone Wars. He probably strayed off course for some reason, was ambushed and had to make a rough landing, based on these damages."

"Oh, man, I'd love to fly something like this one day – pick off those TIE's like little flies."

"It's too badly damaged to salvage," Kanan says, then he reaches threw a broken cockpit window and disables the beacon.

.

Kanan and Ezra near the patch of forest. Towering above it is a large rock formation, much like a mountain, but halved down the center and forming a loose eclipse around the forest.

"Buh ba boh."

"Chopper?" Ezra says confused. He takes out his communicator bead, "Choppers, where are you?"

"Ooohhh boo bah."

"He's on the ship," Ezra says to Kanan.

"Interesting how when he does something he knows is wrong he finds all these little hiding spaces."

"Bah ba-dah bah doo."

"Yeah, we know the beacon stopped. You're only off by more than three minutes," Ezra says.

Kanan pulls his communicator bead out and as well, "Stay put and keep an eye out for other ships or the next emergency beacon detected off this planet will be yours."

They enter the patch of forest.

"How does a place like this survive on a planet like this?" Ezra asks aloud.

"I don't know, but if he's in here, even if we split up it'll take about twenty minutes to search."

"Look!" Ezra points, then walks over toward a bush. He pulls back on the growth to reveal the skeletal remains of an aliens species. "Is that him?"

"Is there a lightsaber by him?" Kanan asks.

Ezra searches, "I don't see one."

"Keep looking. That was probably an attacker."

They look around some more. Ezra notices skeletal remains fragments over the ground around bushes.

"This is like a graveyard. **Kanan!** " Ezra shouts loudly, instinctively whipping out his lightsaber and activating it in a mere split second.

"What?" Kanan runs over quickly, lightsaber already drawn.

"An Inquisitor!" he points.

Kanan looks down and see the familiar black armor and white shoulder insignia on an arm sticking out of some light grassy growth.

Kanan quickly brings the communicator bead to his mouth and barks orders, " _Chopper! Scan the area for other life forms and ships!_ "

They ease in cautiously and slowly. Once Kanan sees the dried skin and rigamortis, he deactivates his and lowers his lightsaber **,** as does Ezra after using his to cut the grass down.

Ezra sees the face, eyes gone, mouth stretched open, "Ew."

"I'd swear he'd only been here a month but the body is so well intact," says Kanan.

"Yeah. What's that mark on his head?" pointing to a scabbed over and discolored mark on the Inquisitor's head, shaped like a circle with an outer ring.

"Looks like some sort of single-fire pulse weapon at close range, perhaps," Kanan speculates.

Chopper's voice cuts in, "Wah bah bu-bu bah. Wah-wooh."

"He didn't find anything," Kanan says to Ezra, then speaks to Chopper, "Keep an eye out, Chopper. Kanan out," he lowers the communicator bead.

"If Chopper isn't detecting anything, then this Jedi must have gone underground. Unless something in the rocks is interfering with the scanners."

"Or he's already dead," Kanan says.

"In a time of uncertain potential peril, you're quite comforting," Ezra fires back.

"This patch extends back almost a full mile; if we split up we can probably cover it in fifteen or twenty minutes."

"Wait – what if I get lost?" Ezra asks.

"It's a patch. Walk until you're out of it and circle around until you find the point we entered."

"Oh," Ezra says, scratching the top of his head, feeling silly."We're near where we entered, so this is out starting point. We'll split left and right, go until we reach the edges, turn toward the mountain, walk until we reach that end, turn to the middle, go ten feet, head away from the mountain and repeat it until we meet in the middle on this side of the other."

"You're awfully methodical today."

"Something here doesn't feel right," says Kanan.

"I feel it, too," Ezra comments aloud.

"I don't want to be here any longer than needed. And Ezra."

"Yes?" Ezra says, stopping steps away from Kanan.

"Be cautious."

.

Kanan walks at a steady pace, looking side-to-side. Several minutes have passed.

"Kanan," Ezra's voice sounds from the communicator bead. He lifts the bead a couple of inches from his mouth and responds, "Any luck?"

Ezra responds, "A couple old skeletal remains."

"Me, too," Kanan says, spotting a blackened-skin skeleton with a circular pattern in the forehead, in the brush.

"But I found something else."

"What?" Kanan asks.

"Food. I see what looks like red-dish/orange berries growing on bushes around me. They look tasty and they smell delicious."

"Don't eat anything until we've brought it back for testing."

"Yeah, yeah, I wo – _**WHOA!**_ "

"Ezra," Kanan shouts as he abruptly stops in his tracks.

"Kanan, I found another dead Inquisitor. This one's maybe two or three weeks old. Looks like he was shot in the head, too."

"I'm getting a bad feeling…" Kanan comments aloud.

"Kanan, who could be so powerful and kill two Inquisitors and not show up on the scans?" Ezra asks.

"Choppers! I want a deep long-range scan of the area now! Ezra, don't move – stay put until Chopper is done."

"Right."

Kanan eyes the area around himself carefully, his dueling hand open and hovering over his lightsaber like a marksman, for what seems to be the longest scan time ever.

Ezra looks around nervously. He jolts his head to his left after a faint rustling sound emanates from the brush. His lightsaber drawn just as quickly, he looks on as a small orange bug like a cross between a beetle and a cockroach, with a black head, scurries out the brush and passed Ezra's feet.

"Whew…" he deactivates his lightsaber and re-holsters it. "I know some people back home who'd love to eat you."

Kanan's communicator bead beeps. He raises it up to his head to hear.

"Ah whabba bah bah bahda bwoo."

"Just two more ships, crashed on the surface? Nothing else? All right, but keep watching – something's not right here, Chopper," says Kanan.

Ezra keeps looking when Kanan's voice sounds from his communicator bead; Ezra grabs it, "Anything?"

"Negative. Chopper found both of the Inquisitor's ships on the surface though. With nobody to helm them for so long, their orbits just decayed until they crashed into this planet. Let's proceed with the search, but try to go faster – I want to stay here even less than before."

"Got'cha," Ezra deactivates and re-holsters his lightsaber.

As he starts to move he hears something from behind him and looks; some leaves and tall grass on low-hanging braches shake, having been brushed.

"Kanan – someone's out here," he then spins upon hearing another noise, "Maybe two of them."

"Ezra, get out of there!"

"Don't have to tell me a second time," Ezra starts running but trips and falls down, his communicator bead rolling off into some brush.

A fast flurry of leaves and grass being tossed about by movement alerts Ezra and he rolls over and screams.

" _ **NO**_ —"

Kanan hears Ezra's cry across the forest start and then stop abruptly.

"Ezra. _**Ezra!**_ " he yells into his communicator bead.

Kanan immediately springs into a defensive posture, lightsaber drawn just as quickly, after the rustle of leaves from behind him sets him off.

Another sound gets his attention to his right. Then his left. Then behind him. Then behind him again, spinning to face each fast. He's hit in the head.

" **Agh!** "

He struggles, but then falls to his knees. His grip loosens and the lightsaber falls to the ground, deactivating. His arms drop to his sides and shake. His fingers tremble uncontrollably.


	2. Chapter 2

Kanan opens his eyes and sits up. He feels his head and discovers a circular imprint much like the one he and Ezra had found on the bodies.

"Um – what hit me?" he says aloud to himself.

"The Baraker," comes a strange voice.

Kanan extends a hand out and Force-grabs his out-of-reach lightsaber and jumps to his feet. He looks but doesn't spot anybody.

"I'm Kanan Jarrus. We detected your distress beacon. Are you Jedi?"

"Jedi? Me? My, no – I don't even know what that is."

Kanan looks up to see a small alien creature, much the size of Yoda, sitting on a tree branch, "Who are you?"

"Me? I am Manta. Manta Ere. I live here. Born here, actually."

Kana deactivates his lightsaber, "What happened to me?"

"The Baraker attacked you."

"So you said. I don't remember seeing anything, though," says Kanan.

The small green alien with semi-translucent skin and dark green veins replies, "The Baraker is stealthy. Its skin can change colors and blend into the brush. Saved you, I did."

"Thank you. Where did you come from? My ship's scanners didn't detect any life forms."

"I have an underground niche from which I hide from the Baraker. Perhaps something in the rocks obscured me."

"And the Baraker?" asks Kanan while searching for his communicator bead.

"Ah, forgive me, but I know little of technology and even less about the Baraker."

"Yes," Kanan finds the bead and quickly brings it up to his mouth, "Ezra, can you hear me?" he then turns to see Ere already on the ground, watching him. "Ezra," he says again, waiting for a response.

"Oh, dear," says Ere.

"What?"

"The Baraker must have got him."

"I got to find him, he could be seriously injured."

Ere comments, "Injured? I'd think not."

"Why is that?"

"The Baraker strikes to kill, always. You're only the second that got away."

"Was the first a man in a uniform carrying something like this?" Kanan holds out his lightsaber.

"Yes. The Jedi."

"Where is he now?"

"I could only save him once. Eventually the Baraker got him."

"I don't care how deadly the Baraker is, I have to find Ezra," he heads away.

"Here, I come with you. Maybe I protect you a second time," Ere waddles along on her webbed feet.

After a minute, Kanan cups his hands to his mouth and shouts out, " **Ezra!** "

"Hum. You make yourself a dinner beacon for the Baraker to find."

"I've survived worse attacks than a forest creature; I'll manage."

"Hum," Ere nods.

"You live here alone?" Kanan asks her.

"Oh, yes. Well, except for my children."

"Where are they?"

"Safe. I was actually out scavenging for their food."

"How'd you come to be on such a baron planet?" Kanan asks.

"Baron? Was not always so. Many, many cycles ago this planet was struck by a glowing small rock from the sky. The sky and land was afire for quite a few cycles. The mountain there, cupped this area and saved me from the blast. The fires eventually stopped, but not before burning off the water atop."

"Not all the water," says Kanan.

"No? Explain?" asks Ere.

"The moisture percentage in the air is around 50%; the planet is obviously recovering. A couple small bodies of water were detected by the scanner when we flew in."

"Hum," Ere says with detectable interest, "You and your friend Ezra?"

"And Chopper."

"Chopper. Where is Chopper?"

"Onboard our ship."

"I should like to meet this chopper. I could introduce him to my children."

"Chopper is a service droid. Of course – Chopper!" Kanan reaches for his communicator bead, " _Chopper!_ "

He waits a few seconds for chopper to reply. Nothing.

"Chopper, come in," he asks and again waits. "Why won't he answer?" Kana says aloud, confused.

"I'm sure he's just busy," ere reassures.

"He could have scanned for Ezra and lead me to him. **Ezra!** " Kanan cups his mouth and calls out again.

"Perhaps the Baraker got him. Maybe we should check on him."

"If he closed the hatch, he should be fine. Last thing we need are more birds."

"Birds?" Ere says excitedly.

"Yes, little ones that are oddly taken with the head of one of my crew. You're very talkative."

"Oh, forgive me – whom else would I speak to? Before the sky rock, we had birds, bugs, creatures of all sorts. Their deaths was a profound loss."

Kanan continues walking and searching.

.

Chopper looks at the patch of forest off nearby from the ramp of the skiff. He backs up and closes the ramp, coming about and motoring toward the cockpit.

Once back in the cockpit he uses his short arms to try the communications panel.

"Bah bub. Bah bub," he waits. "Awbub."

.

Ere follows Kanan as Kanan continues his search.

"This Jedi … why do you seek to help him?"

"It's what we do. It's what I do. I presume your people did the same," he pushes some brush back.

"Same? No. We looked out for our young only."

"Well, I and my people – in fact a number of alien species come to the aide of other species when needed."

"Others? I thought it was just you and the one you call Ezra, since Chopper is a droid."

"There's also my crew. We split up to answer the distress beacon."

"I should very much like to meet all of them as well," says Ere.

"If you wish, we could re-locate you to a world not so desolate."

"No, I … I can't leave."

"Okay. It was just a friendly offer."

"Your offer is generous, but I cannot leave this world."

"I understand. I was attached to my home world, too. At first Ezra didn't want to leave his either. In fact, if it hadn't been for the Force calling out and awakening me, I may never have left. I wouldn't be the man I am today," he stops to examine a bush, "These look like the kind of barriers Ezra described. I must be close. Are these edible?"

"Oh, yes. They are most alluring."

"I'll have to try some later," he pulls out his communicator bead and tries again, "Chopper," he waits a few seconds, "Still no answer. He's probably looking for us right now."

.

The engines on the skiff fire up. The skiff hovers off the ground and moves quickly away. Chopper pulls upwards and increases the speed. The skiff breaks out the dust bowl into space, pulling debris with it. Once out, the skiff shoots off into hyperspace.

.

Kanan looks around, pushing aside grass, searching.

"I don't get it. I should have found Ezra or at least his body by now. Would the Baraker have taken him somewhere?"

"Taken somewhere? No. This crew – what will they do if you do not return?"

"They'll come looking for me. _Ohhh_ , I'm starting to feel tired; I think this air is affecting me."

"Perhaps. How many are in your crew?" Ere asks.

Kanan looks out above the brush, his back to Ere, "Ten. Two ships."

"Ten? Oh my. I should like to meet all ten of them."

"Tell me something I don't know," Kanan turns around and stands fully.

"Such as?" Ere says, seemingly confused.

"No, really: tell me something _I_ don't know. You've told me about you bit not anything else **I** personally don't know."

"Then I am sorry," replies Ere innocently.

"Tell me about Robin Kor."

"Who?"

"I mentioned her earlier. Did you forget?"

"No, no … she's a…" thinking.

"Nonexistent; I just made the name up," Kanan quickly takes his a hold of lightsaber and activates it.

"You are quite resilient," Ere says, looking square at Kanan, eyes unblinking.

"Amongst the training received from a Jedi master is the ability to awaken one's self from forced slumbers or stimulated electronic hibernation, with the Force; a normal person could not do that. I smell a ruse. This isn't real, none of this is."

"I am quite real," Ere replies.

"It's been nice chatting, but when I awaken, I'm going to be quite unpleasant," says Kanan, deactivating his lightsaber out of habit.

He closes his eyes and closes his fists. He then crosses his wrists over his heart and breaths in and out heavily in steady takes.

"Going? I should think not," says Ere.

Kanan opens his eyes, "I can't awaken. I can't feel the Force," he says with alarm.

Ere chuckles aloud, "No. My babies are hungry. _I'm_ hungry."

"What have you done to me?"

"No … you won't be going anywhere…"

The breeze from strong air moving threw the forest rustles leaves and plants in the forest, scattering fallen leafs upon the floor, onto Kanan, who lies on his back motionless; a slimy long and thick tendril snakes down from his forehead where it's stuck. On his exposed skin the small orange beetles bit by bit eat away at his flesh.


	3. Chapter 3

The skiff drops out of hyperspace. Chopper looks out the cockpit windows for the Ghost, but it's not there. He motors to the communications panel.

.

Kanan looks down at Ere.

"There never was a Baraker, was there?"

"Oh, there was a Baraker. Many Barakers. But like must predators, in time they succumbed to something more powerful than they."

"The sky rock?"

"Yes."

"Why us?"

"Oh, nothing in particular. With no prey to any longer sustain us, I had to find alternative food sources. Over the cycles very few have ever come here. One being of such height and bulk can provide enough nutrients to sustain us for two of your months."

"What about the beetles?"

"Oh, no – they're poisonous."

"So, at this moment, I'm…"

"Being slowly eaten alive."

"Hum," Kanan contemplates.

"I must say, you are taking your death rather well."

"I don't plan on dying."

"Oh, they never do," Ere says amused.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you?"

"Now you are the one who is talkative."

"Humor me," says Kanan.

"I look very much like I do here, except I'm a plant."

"A carnivorous plant. That's why none of the scans detected you. How come I can't connect to the Force?"

"Oh, I don't really know. My guess is that since you are now one with me, connected, the Force can't find you. And the air has already started to affect your respiratory system; it's caused you to enter a deep trance-like state. A previous prey was a doctor, a fascinating young lady. Too bad we had to eat her."

"Well, I think you were wrong on one count."

"What might that be?" asks Ere.

"I think I can get out of here."

"Impossible," Ere says, taken aback.

"The Force is the second most powerful too I wield."

"Explain," asks Ere.

"Perhaps the greatest thing a being can wield is the power of persuasion."

Ere laughs, "Well then perhaps I shall stop listening to you."

"You won't. You could already have done so, but you're still here. You want to talk to me."

"It is true, I do have no one else to talk to. And I find you oddly compelling. Tasty, too, but oddly compelling."

"Now, there are three types of persuasion, though: persuading for a good cause, persuading for a bad cause, and threats by means of persuasion."

"Hum. Such as?"

"Well, for example … I turned off the beacon."

" _What?_ **No!** " Ere becomes enraged, "I _need that!_ "

"I know now. It was a lucky gift that lead many a lamb to your slaughter. But no longer."

"You'll kill us!"

"Let me go and I'll re-activate it."

Ere pauses and tilts her head to a side, "You're lying."

"Yes, I am," he folds his arms.

Ere shakes her head in anger, "No matter, no matter. After I have consumed your crew, others will be attracted to the vessel once it crashes into the planet. We'll just have to make due."

"Allow me to present you with an alternative…"

.

Chopper swirls his head at the cockpit windows when the Ghost suddenly pops up. He immediately flies the skiff around to dock back into the Ghost.

Chopper lands on the main corridor deck after exiting the skiff above. Sabine and Zeb hurry over.

"Chopper, where's Kanan and Ezra?" Sabine asks as she squats down on her haunches to Chopper's general height.

"Bah ba ba ba! Buh ah uh ah!"

"What's that blasted overgrown rations can going on about?" Zeb asks.

"Ezra was attacked. What else, Chopper?"

"Bah dab up, uwow oop oop ba bahdda buh."

"He says he scanned for both of them … and found no life signs," she looks at Zeb.

"Crikey," he says as he swats the little birds away from his head.

.

Kanan walks around Ere.

"What is the one thing I have been since we met?"

"I don't know," Ere replies.

"You do; you could read my mind to know, but yet you wait to let me tell you. So, what is it?"

"You tell me."

Kanan stops in front of her, "Genuine, honest. In fact, I will tell you upfront what I'm about to do: talk you into letting Ezra and I go."

"Impossible. My children's survival depends upon your consumption."

"But yet you're still listening. I said earlier there was such a thing as good persuasion. What if I could persuade you to let us go?"

.

Sabine and Zeb make their way threw the patch of forest, having re-traced what was left of the foot prints that lead into it and also inside of it.

"Anything?" she asks with her helmet on.

"Agh – nothing. The stupid scanner keeps showing no life forms."

"Oh, yeah – it's the scanner that's stupid," she replies with sarcasm.

"Well, what about yours?" he asks.

Sabine fiddles with hers, "Nothing as well. What if they're not ali-"

Zeb cuts her off, "there!" and points to some coloration he glimpses threw some tall grass.

He and Sabine go running over and once clear of the growth, they spot Kanan's body on the ground. The beetles immediately scatter and disappear into the surroundings.

"Oh, God – what is that on his head?" she exclaims.

"I don't know, but it's going bye-bye," Zeb puts a hand on it and pulls. His hand shoots right off it and is covered in slime, "It's slippery as hell. I'll have to try harder."

"No, stop!" she blocks him.

"What?"

"Look at it. Those green veins on the arm-thingy appear to be in his forehead. You might hurt him."

"Guys, what's going on?" Hera demands over the comm.

"We found Kanan. He's got some kind of creature/thing attached to his head," Sabine replies.

"Can you get it off?" Hera asks.

"I don't think I can without hurting him. Hold on," she takes off her helmet and re-adjusts the parameters for the scan settings. "Scanning it now."

After a few second she reads the results. Zeb moves in to see them.

"Hera, this thing has thin dark green tendrils that have wormed their way threw the skin and soft tissue and have leeched onto various nerves on his brain. If we rip this thing off, it'll kill him."

Zeb grimaces, "Ew, sorry about almost killin' you there, K."

"Suggestions?" Hera asks.

"I don't know, but he's not breathing well at all. Can you bring an oxygen mask and some epidermal stimulator pads?" Sabine asks.

"On it," Hera shoots up from wheel and takes off.

.

"You have my undivided attention," says Ere.

"You want to eat, I want to live. Ezra as well."

"Live, yes. We seek sustenance, always."

"On my ship we have large barrels," he expresses with his heads, "of used cooking oil; it's rich with nutrient deposits from various kinds of food cooked in it. Let us go and they are yours."

Ere ponders momentarily, "It's a trick."

Kanan lowers his face down just a few inches above hers, "Sense my mind; am I lying?"

"I detect … no deception."

"Let us go and I give you my word as a Jedi, as a man, that I will do as promised."

Ere walks around. While not necessary and in a re-creation of her own reality, her own wandering mind causes her to wander in appearance.

Ere stops and faces Kanan, "You are the first alien species to not threaten me; not bribe me; trick me or even beg me for their life."

"Is that a 'yes'?"

"Under one condition. The one you call Ezra, stays until you have made good on your promise."

"Agreed," says Kanan.

Suddenly everything becomes wavy. Things start to blur and the world around him turns to black.

As Hera runs up to them, she sees the tendrils snake out of his head and the main large one un-stick from his forehead and retract to the ground nearby.

" _HUH!_ " Kanan wheezes.

"Breath this," Hera shoves the oxygen mask onto his face. "Your lungs are coated in fine dirt.

"Are you all right?" Sabine asks, helping him sit up.

Kanan struggles to breathe, "Fine," in a weak voice, "We have a mission to do."


	4. Chapter 4

Zeb, Hera, Sabine, and even Kanan in his weakened state all push hover carts loaded down two barrels each, making pushing them threw rough paths in the forest difficult.

"Okay, we're here," Kanan wheezes even with the mask on.

"You know how many pairs of clean underwear I could have traded for with just _one_ barrel?" says Sabine.

Zeb comments, "Going commando; I tell ya, nothing like it."

"Hera, you and Zeb go find Ezra and put the extra oxygen mask on him. Sabine and I can take care of ourselves."

"We'll be back," Hera says with some concern before walking away with Zeb, trying alternative scan settings.

The long and thick tendril moves around, detecting their presence. Kanan struggles some to uncap a barrel. Once off he and Sabine push the barrel over and allow some of the oil to spill on the ground. As the tendril jerks over to the oil, Kanan re-caps the barrel. He and Sabine stand it up upon the forest as the tendril absorbs the oil.

"Ready?" he asks Sabine.

She shakes her head "Yes" and Kanan then sits down and lightly taps the tendril; it then proceeds to snake up to his head and suction itself to Kanan's forehead. The thin dark green ones worm their way back into his head.

The re-created world phases back into reality and un-blurs. Kanan looks around.

"Ere?"

"You returned."

He turns to see Ere, "I promised."

"Forgive me, I expected not to see you willingly come back."

"I brought someone with me. Can you read her mind without entering her brain? She prefers not to do it that way."

"Yes."

"She's next to me."

"One moment…"

A second, although thinner, tendril emerges from the berry plant nearby. It rises up and sucks onto her head.

Sabine phases into the re-created world.

"Hello," says Ere.

"Ah, hi," Sabine waves a tad, nervously.

"This is Sabine, she's out all-purpose smarty pants. She has some ideas. Sabine?"

"Well, we brought eight barrels but kept two. If we set high-yield concussive implosions to each barrel and drop them into the dust layer at different points and detonate, the oil will be blown into a fine mist that will glob onto the dirt in the air as it slowly rains down. That'll clear the air up some and allow direct sunlight to get threw some, which will evaporate surface water, which will in turn rain back down on the planet, allowing buried seedlings to rejuvenate and grow, which in turn will help purify the air and increase the speed your planet recovers."

"All this, for me?" Ere says, shocked.

Kanan then speaks, "But that's not all. It occurred to me that with no birds or insects, your flowering can't be pollinated and you'll also run out of food once the barrels are depleted. We're going to deposit the birds on my ship here, if in exchange we can take some of your fruit."

"Yes, yes – of course!"

"Each barrel will be stood up and the caps unscrewed, which is a circular item smaller than the palm of my hand. We'll place the caps on to keep sand and the beetles out, so all you have to do is knock the cap off when you need a new barrel."

"Thank you," Ere says with genuine honestly.

"That just leaves one final matter – where is Ezra?"

"I don't know," Ere replies.

"I thought we had a deal."

"I know not where he is. I had him take care of other business, but I lost track of him hours ago. He's somewhere about the forest, alive, unharmed."

"Now I am taking your word. Ere, it's been … unusual, but we have to go."

"Wait – why have you done all of those for me?" she asks, finally confused herself.

"I told you: we help people. Even if they're intelligent plants."

Ere nods, "Farewell."

The world begins to blur and get wavy.

"Bye," Sabine says, waving good-bye.

It fades to black.

Kanan and Sabine open their eyes as the tendrils retract back into the berry bushes and their deceptively alluring bait smell. Kanan sees Ezra.

Hera says to Kanan, "Found him a few minutes away passed out and covered in pollen. I scanned it and it's a hallucinogenic."

"Hey," Ezra says, very weak and from behind the oxygen mask.

"Did everything go okay?" Hera asks Kanan.

"It did. Sabine, you and Zeb go back to the ship; Sabine, ready the concussives, Zeb, bring back your bird friends – they're staying here."

"Oh, yes!" Zeb yells.

"Hera, Ezra and I will collect berries."

Zeb and Sabine take off for the skiff.

.

Several minutes later. The three are already into picking berries.

Kanan comments, "It's a good thing you guys came back to the rendezvous coordinates early."

"Early? Kanan – it's been two days," Hera replies.

Kanan stops, "I was in there for two days?" shocked.

"All things considered, I think I got the better end of the deal. Got covered in pollen, but hey – I got some exercise," Ezra says, dropping some berries into his opened backpack.

Hera says to him, "Ezra, do you understand why you're covered in pollen, don't you?"

"Not really."

"In order to get that much pollen over you, you had to stick your fingers and hand into dozens and dozens of flowers."

"Ah, so, does that mean I was-"

"Pollinating," Kanan cracks a smile.

Hera jumps in quickly, "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll name them all after you."

"Ewww…" Ezra says in his weak voice, dropping more berries in.

Zeb comes walking toward them at an even pace as the little birds sit on his head, pecking at it. He lowers his head down to the flowers. After a couple of seconds the birds tilt their heads around and take off from his head and immediately swarm the flowers and berries.

" **Freedom!** " Zeb exclaims in triumph, raising his arms up.

Kanan says to him, "Well, Zeb, I hope that's taught you a lesson about leaving the skiff gate open."

"The gate?" he slaps his face with both hands and rubs them downward, " _Aaaggghhh!_ "

Ezra looks at Zeb, "Zeb, buddy, it may be time to invest in a hat."

.

The skiff takes off and stops just short of the Ghost, already in air. The gate opens.

Zeb's voice booms over the engines, "Get out! Get out! _**GET OUT!**_ "

A dozen or so of the orange beetles go flying off the gate and fall into the sand below. The gate then closes and the skiff docks with the Ghost and the Ghost takes off.

.

Above the forest can be heard a distant but loud boom. A minute later a second so loud and over the forest, tree leaves shake from the shock wave. The tendril points up to the sky to feel sunlight breaking threw the forest canopy. Then a fine mist of dirty oil gently rains down.

"When we hit the dust layer, gun it; let's see if we can take some of it out with us into space," says Kanan.

"Sure," Hera replies.

"Hera, do we have a hazardous health warning beacon?"

"We got one."

"Drop it just outside the planet's gravitational well."

"Got it," she replies.

"It'll be lonely, but it's just her and her kids now. Make sure you also-"

"Kanan," Hera cuts him off.

"What?"

"I don't need a backseat co-pilot."

"Sorry."

"Now," she says, "make like a tree and leave."

Kanan closes his mouth and backs off.

He points to his mouth, "You see this? I'm scowling at you."

Hera smiles.

.

The Ghost shoots out of the last layer of atmosphere, creating a large and long plum of dirt that continues on out into space, eventually to freeze over and rain more water back down upon the planet.


End file.
